As a Florida-based small business, we have experienced many hurricanes.  One key component to preparation is definitely to prepare for the worst while hoping for the best.  No two hurricanes are the same. They may be similar in strength, wind speed, or direction, but some components can never be truly predicted.
The only certainty of a hurricane happens when it has completed its path.   
Here at Happy Task Service, we want you to have a piece of mind with your hurricane preparedness. Let us know how we can help you, whether it is finding a quality service to help with a task or picking up something you need. We are here to help! Ask us how to save 10% on your next task.  ​ 

It's early in the morning, and you have to meet a client. You get up and get dressed.  You grab your phone and bag. You hop in your car and be on your way.  What is wrong with this picture?
One of the most under-reported expenses is the use of your personal vehicle for work. Did you record your mileage or do you have a plan to capture it?  Keep in mind, your mileage for work is not just to and from your destination. Think about all the other places you go during the day. 
Track your actual mileage
If you meet a client for a business lunch and they ask you to take them to the airport on your way home, this will not be included if you only use a map app to determine your mileage. Think about it -- if you drive an extra 10 miles out of your way each week for a year, that is 520 unclaimed miles. At roughly $.55 per mile, you could be losing out on almost $300 of expense claims per year. 

Make Smart Decisions
Using your personal car for business-related expenses can take a toll on the overall health of your car. Be diligent about getting your oil changes and tune ups.  Also, remember to shop around! For things like tires, you don't want to wait until one blows out to make that purchase. If you do, instead of finding the best deal, you will be stuck paying for the most convenient. Get those line items repaired on time, so you can shop around a get the best available prices. Each time you get your car serviced, they provide you with a report. Try to stay ahead of those upcoming and obvious repairs like getting new tires.

So, what does it take to be an expense expert?  Well, you already are! No one knows the expenses related to your business better than you. All you need to do is be aware of what you are spending and definitely keep a log.

​Note: This post is for informational purposes only. For tax advice, please contact a tax professional or visit www.irs.gov.

We hope you have some BIG PLANS to be AWESOME this year! Let us know how we can help you achieve your goals. - Happy Task Service

A Retiree's Guide to Side Gigs

There are numerous advantages to finding a part-time side job as a senior. The most obvious is probably the money, which can give you a financial cushion and allow you extra funds for travel, dream purchases and general enjoyment of your golden years. But money isn’t everything — a side gig can help you stave off boredom, engage your brain and give you an enjoyable way to keep yourself moving forward during retirement.

Gigs for seniors who love people

Having a job through retirement gives you the opportunity to get up, get out and get moving. If you think you’d like to work with people (of all ages), consider fulfilling part-time jobs including babysitting, substitute teaching or driving for Uber or Lyft. Not only can you make some solid side income with any of these jobs, but they will also keep you social and engaged.

Gigs for seniors with professional skills

If you spent your career in a professional field, you can easily turn those lifelong skills into a cozy little part-time retirement gig. If you have expertise in finance, accounting, investing, law, architecture, or engineering, consider consulting. Starting your own side consulting business can be accomplished in a matter of weeks. Most of it can be done from home if you need to.

Tutoring also is a fine option for anyone skilled in academic or professional fields. Starting a small tutoring business is fairly simple, and a lot of it can be done online.

Gigs for seniors who are artistic

If you have an artistic streak in you, there’s a good chance that you can make some money doing something you truly love. If you paint, sculpt, make pottery, cross-stitch, embroider, knit or woodwork, you may be able to make cash selling your wares on a marketplace like Etsy. You can ship from home and receive payment online on a site like PayPal — this means this gig is 100% from-home. There are several online marketplaces to check out.

Another way to share your art and get paid doing it is through lessons. If you are a skilled painter or even a musician, hosting private lessons at your home can be rather lucrative.

Gigs for seniors who don’t want to leave the house

Being able to work from home is amazing, and if you don’t want to give up this ultimate flexibility in order to make money during retirement, that’s completely understandable. The good news is you don’t have to. AARP has some suggestions for you including writing/editing, call center work, customer service rep and virtual assistant work. Transcription work is also easy to come by — especially in the medical field. If you speak multiple languages, translation work is fun and fairly competitive in terms of compensation.

You’re retired. So, why in the world would you want to spend your time working? Here’s a small list of reasons: physical engagement, mental stimulation, socialization, distraction and purpose. Oh yeah — there’s also the money. That money can not only make you and your family’s life easier through your retirement, but it could also help you do some of the things you’ve always wanted to do. Your golden years are what you make of them. You can still work a little and enjoy all the freedom retirement offers. Just remember to always think about how you can achieve a healthy balance.
Article dedicated by Lucy Reed Contact:lucy@gigmine.co
Photo by Dan Gold on Unsplash


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Unbelievable! I went away for one weekend - Saturday Afternoon to Sunday Afternoon. In 24 hrs, my inbox received 431 new emails! 

Email can be one of the most stressful items in your daily to-do list as an individual or business owner.   I value having an almost empty inbox (emphasis on the "almost").  I know many struggle with the same. Here are some tips to help cut the inbox clutter and give you a feeling of control with your email.


#1 What's in there now? Is your inbox filled with things you want to read "later"?  Realistically speaking, if your later was not 2 days later, then you are not going to read it. ARCHIVE IT! Then you can type a keyword in the search if you ever need to read about that topic. Informational emails like articles, sales material, and updates are often repetitive and time sensitive.  When they sit in your inbox for days/months they lose all of their value. 

#2 Use a Sorter.  Most online inboxes have options for sorting email. You can select in Gmail if you want to sort your emails in preset categories. This is a great start for reviewing a really huge number of emails.  It is also great for maintenance especially if you have several social media accounts that you monitor regularly.  Keep in mind, most email programs also have internal filters that look at your behaviors and try to do those repeated actions to make you more efficient.  For example, when you mark emails for a specific sender as important, soon your email system will start to mark them as they come in. 


#3 Start Fresh with a Schedule. I was visiting a good friend and during our conversation she needed to find an email about an event we were going to attend. She opened her inbox, and she had 18,000+ emails. My heart stopped for at least five seconds. I gasped! I asked, how are you going to manage that? She said, I will go through them one day.  Do you see how overwhelming that could be?  Realistically speaking - she will never go through those emails. It was time to "set her free".  I asked her to archive them all and start fresh.  A few days later, she called and thanked me. She said it was like a weight has been lifted. Remember you can still search for the sender or topic when you archive emails so set yourself free. If it is important, you can find it.  If you did not act on it immediately or did not print it if it is extremely important, archive it at the end of the day or week. Get on a schedule.  Daily may be a bit too often if you get a lot of email but weekly will be a great option too.  Some people even do monthly.  You decide what time schedule is best for you based on the importance and frequency of your emails. 

#4 Cut the Clutter. Do you have a plan for unnecessary emails?  Each email sent from a business will have an unsubscribe. Our lives change often and so do our interests.  If you lived in "Golf Village" ten years ago and have moved, you do not need to continue to get the community newsletter. Use the power of "Unsubscribe" to be proactive about what emails enter your inbox in the first place. 

​#5 Have separate email accounts.  Some people like to have one email account that they check regularly, but often the line between personal and professional emails gets blurry.  You do not want emails from your kid's school to go to your work email. Remember work email is not private.  The company is able to access it or if you work in a government office, it is public record. Even if you are a business owner, you need to filter important emails from personal ones.

Start your journey to email freedom today!

Tips to Building Your Own Gig-Based Business
Whether you’re unemployed, newly graduated or looking for a change, the gig economy represents both a challenge and an opportunity. More companies, including those in the IT, finance, project management, writing, software development and customer service sectors are turning toward contract and freelance employees because of their affordability. 

If you’re an independent contractor, you’ve got more control over your career and more autonomy because you work for yourself. LinkedIn predicted that by 2020, freelancers and independent contractors will make up 43 percent of the U.S. workforce. 

Looking to build your own gig-based business? Here are some useful steps to get started.

Evaluate your expertise and passions
If you’ve got a background as an administrative assistant, it doesn’t take much to make the jump from that to working as a personal assistant. If you’re a web developer, parlay that skill into building apps. Work for a gym as a personal trainer? Partner with apartment complexes and retirement communities to create and host classes for residents.

Have a hobby you love? Consider whether it would make a profitable career. Maximize your options by building a career portfolio. Completely stumped about where to start? Start with assessing your skills and go from there!


Evaluate the market to find your niche
Lynda Falkenstein, author of Nichecraft: Using Your Specialness to Focus Your Business, Corner Your Market, and Make Customers Seek You Out, says “Good niches don’t just fall into your lap; they must be carefully crafted.” She recommends this seven-step process.

Set goals and stick to them
Lists are perfect for keeping yourself on-track and motivated. Plus, there’s something viscerally satisfying about crossing something off that “to do” list. Generate lists of daily, weekly, monthly, annual goals. Revisit those lists and goals regularly to adjust as needed.

Publicize and advertise
Utilize the resources you have—connections with past employers, your LinkedIn network and social media—to get your message out. Define your message and find channels that most effectively tell your story. Don’t neglect your audience—your message should include your value proposition.  

Cultivate your digital footprint
Update all your online profiles: LinkedIn, Facebook, website, Yelp, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, and your portfolio. Taking time to build and maintain a digital footprint will pay dividends as you increase your market penetration, drive brand awareness, and grow your client pipeline.

Designing a workspace that’s right for you
When you’re working primarily from home, ideally you should have a dedicated room to use as your office. You probably won’t need a ton of tools and products to start, but the bare minimum includes:

• Incorporate direct, indirect, and natural lighting.
• Get a smartphone, critical for app-related businesses and a good way to connect with clients when you’re out of the office.
• Use a laptop—desktop computers are nice, but much less portable, so if you like to work at your local coffee shop or need to meet with a client onsite, a laptop is critical.
• Also critical? Reliable Internet service.
• Accounting software facilitates client management and billing and organizes documents come tax time.
• Comfortable, ergonomic furniture—a desk and chair that fit you comfortably.
• Nice to have, but perhaps not a necessity, but depending on the work you do, is an external monitor. Having dual screens saves toggling back and forth, plus working off a bigger screen saves your eyes.

Channel your inner resilience
When you’re considering hanging out that shingle, embrace a willingness to experiment and try new things. Use your network and connect with fellow entrepreneurs and freelancers. 

Cultivate and channel your inner resilience. You’ll face setbacks and failures as you launch and establish your business.  You’ll probably spend a lot of late nights, weekends and spare time working to gain momentum. 

Choosing to be your own boss, however, will push you to your limits; allow you the chance to follow your passion; give you creative control; and provide plenty of challenges and opportunities for success.

Guest Blog by  Lucy Reed Email: lucy@gigmine.co
Photo Credit: pixabay.com

We love Star Wars, and we love greeting cards!   When the two come together, it is true love! Take a moment and be in awe! Check out the great designs inspired by the battles from the galaxy far far away!  Let your message pop up!

This Mother's Day is a great time to try something new.   Instant coffee saves so much time and effort. All you do is pour a tube into hot water and you are done!  Sign up for a free trial (just pay a small fee for shipping) and you will likely be hooked!  No more standing in long lines to get that cup.  Make your coffee at home and get off to a great start! CLICK HERE for Free Trial Offer

Here at Happy Task Service we are all about saving time. When you are in a rush, it is easy to get stressed about dinner.  Some may not think that the decision of what to eat tonight can be that big of a deal, but busy moms disagree.  It is tough to grab a meal on a tight schedule and cooking a great meal may be impossible. 
Well, we are all about solutions that help you save time. 
#1 - Try buying steaks online! Check out this awesome deal!  Once you try it, you are going to be hooked!  This will allow you to stock up on excellent quality steaks and encourage dads to help out with dinner by putting them on the grill. 

#2 Join a Pizza Club!  Get a new type of Pizza each month or as frequently as you like. Kids love pizza and so will you. Best of all, it is delivered to your home. Check it out!  They also offer club memberships for Chocolate, Wine, and Beer - it does not get any better than that!